us and i love the women who resigned in protest. i think that's a terrific all right. we're out of time. "countdown" is next. we'll see you tomorrow. ♪ which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? as president obama embraces the poor -- >> if i'm willing to give something up to somebody who has been extraordinarily blessed, give up some of the tax breaks that i enjoy, i actually think that's going to make economic sense. >> romney is embraced by the rich. >> it's my honor, real honor and privilege to endorse mitt romney. >> but is it a privilege romney can afford. last year trump called him a loser. the u.s. tax code. >> tax reform should follow the buffet rule.

if you make more than a million dollars a year you should not pay less than 30% in taxes. >> hip -- hypocrisy in pink. and gop indeed. >> yes! yes! yes! >> a new survey reveals republicans have more sex but more orgasms. the only one and only michael musto is here to explain more. all of that and more now on "countdown"! >> i'll have what she is having. ♪ >> good evening. this is thursday february 2nd, 279 days until the 2012 presidential election. i'm david shuster sitting in for

keith olberman. mitt romney gets a celebrity endorsement and our first story in the "countdown" romney is riding high while the president is calling for fairness. >> if i'm willing to give something up to somebody who has been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that i enjoy, i actually think that's going to make economic sense, but for me as a christian, it also coincides with jesus' teaching that for unto whom much is given, much shall be required. >> as for mitt romney nevada republicans seemed to give him what he requires. and if that wasn't blessing

enough. romney received an endorsement from gop favorite donald trump and then gave one right back. >> mitt is tough. he's smart. he's sharp. he is not going to allow bad things to continue to happen. >> there are some things you just can't imagine happening in your life this is one of them. >> the donald told "the daily beast." . still texas governor rick perry talked to his favor. and newt gingrich went to donald's tower to kiss the ring.

>> i -- i'm not going to comment over that question. [ laughter ] >> meanwhile romney is still trying to recover from wednesday's gasp. >> i'm not concerned about the very pour. we have a safety net there. >> romney admitted he wished he had phrased that a little differently. >> that's not exactly what i meant to say. >> newt gingrich wasn't about to let romney get away with that. >> i really believe that we should care about the very poor unlike governor romney. >> and then a web ad fundingturing romney's claim that he would focus on the middle class. >> a family make $75,000 in terms of what they would receive by eliminating capital gains and dividends, $167 sir. >> $167 is not zero. >> no, and it's not much help

for a struggling middle class family either. and newt gingrich announced today he would petition the state party to amend a winner take all election. his chairman replied . . . >> rick santorum was a winner of a different kind today. he got the endorsement of nevada tea party favorite sharon angle. and while they are campaigning without a clear path to the nomination much less to the white house, a series of gallup polls lays out what president obama has to do. but gallop gives the president little chance where he is

polling under 40%. that leaves the rich crop of swing states to fight over. for more on the gop race yes ear joined david. good to see you tonight. >> good to see you. >> was he calling out mitt romney and the house as selfish while his policies may be more justified than his opponents. >> in a political season you can never discount that's what he was doing. i think he was making his case and he was trying to make his pitch in a way that would resinate at a prayer breakfast. >> could gingrich be campaigning there just to try to get some

attention for his barbs. >> talking to my sources in nevada today, this race probably is romney's to lose and by a lot, meaning he should sew it up saturday night. nobody else can match him in organization and stature there. ron paul comes in second in his ability for organization. >> the trump endorsement today, what effect does that have? >> you know, i'm really not sure what the point is. but here is what i think. it is always a good idea if you can get an endorsement to take it because it takes it away from your opponents and the ability to push a new cycle. and i'm wondering if the romney

campaign took the trump endorsement simply so nobody else could have it. beyond that i doesn't really matter because endorsements particularly this sickle haven't mattered at all. voters aren't interested in what establishment players have to say. trump isn't necessarily an establishment, but he does haven't a true following. so i think it was about taking it away from newt gingrich. >> romney got temperatured in south carolina. >> when romney was endorsed by nicki haley who was elected sort of as a tea party elective this was when newt gingrich was rising the first time. he was rising and i thought at the time it didn't mean he would win south carolina but helped take away something that might

have been helpful for newt gingrich. so i think that's how you look at endorsements david not so much that they help you win, but they can take away fuel from your opponents. >> great point. gingrich has the reputation for being undisciplined. did anyone expect romney to top him where he portrays himself as sort of a caricature of the unfeeling rich. >> romney is the clear front runner coming out of florida. second of all there is -- not excusing this by the way, because it is a bad gap -- but there is a difference between misspeaking and saying things uneloquently as opposed to making yourself the issue and being completely unlikable. and i think romney is -- look he has a problem in that he's

not the best communicate for of all time. he is not always a very good politician but i think it's different although still a problem for him, but newt gingrich has never been well liked and doesn't know how to make the race about the other guy. and whether we're going to have newt gingrich or mitt romney or rick santorum the only way they have a chance of winning is turn this into a referendum on president obama. romney's gaps may be a huge issue down the stretch. >> for romney in this particular case though is part of the issue how he has handled damage control. ramny is now saying that he now misspoke in his comment yesterday. this is 36 hours later.

is that a problem? >> well it's a problem -- i'll say this. he did correct it yesterday on his press plane he went out to his reporters and said i didn't mean what i said. here is what i meant. i misspoke. so yes, it's a problem that this is a two or three-day story. he probably gets slightly higher marks on how he dealt with the tax issue where he didn't do anything for an entire week. so he is trying to fix it here. it is going to take a couple of days. >> david great stuff and thank for your time. >> thank you. >> now we're joining by reuters political correspondent. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> any chance of an impact on his opponents or just preaching to the converted. >> david, i think presidents are expected to make religion a part

of their routine. two-thirds of all voters say they expect a president to have strong religious beliefs. so that is something we is supposed to check off. i thought i was interesting that a lot of the republican candidates have been increasingly speaking about religion on the trail. and here is obama using religion to bolster his case. he could have gone a lot farther, i believe the gospel of matthew jesus says it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of an needle than a rich man pass through the gates of heaven. >> is this the sort of start he needs to win in november? >> those -- those states that the gallup poll are referring to are places like new york and california. >> as far as the battle about

the swing states has there competition, florida, ohio pennsylvania, has the competition changed much in four years? >> i think this time around the battle ground is going to be similar. i think the obama campaign does not expect to compete in indiana. they are looking at arizona however, which was not in play last time. >> ohio pennsylvania, and florida, if unemployment stays more or less where it is should we expect any or all of them to fall into his column. >> unemployment has gone down quite a be it those states. if unemployment continues to fall in those three states that would help obama. however, you have got to look at europe. things could fall apart there. we could easily enter recession again this year and that would make things harder for obama. >> he also carried southern

states of virginia and north carolina. if newt gingrich falls to romney as expected does that put some of these southern states in play for the president? >> i know the obama campaign is again targeting those states. you'll know for sure that the democrats are holding their convention this year in charlotte, north carolina which is a sign that they really intend to complete there. >> everyone has talked about how the president needs to essentially not make this a referendum, draw contrast between him and presumably mitt romney. how is that playing out? >> i think romney is giving the democrats plenty of material to work with. i think they have had a briefing book that they have had ready to go but this primary has shown a lot of records.

bain capitol or his comments that i like firing people that's stuff i'm sure we will see resurface in the fall. >> obama is not going full throated at romney yet. as long as romney is in a battle with gingrich that there's no reason to spend any money. but some democrats say you know what, maybe you shouldn't be waiting. >> yeah, but i think the headlines are being grabbed by the republicans, and you have got this back and forth between gingrich and romney which has gotten increasingly nasty. i think the obama campaign is saying why do we need to get involved in this. >> a key debate in the election will revolved around tax issues. the buffet rule and the

coming up if you think the union bashing has been bad, just wait until you see what they are planning. and the scene was wolf? get it? you will when time marches on.

planned parenthood. anna talked to a conservative and it got a little contentious. drama, when we return.

today the u.s. senate took up legislation that would try the u.s. buffet rule. the author senator whitehouse will join us. and the planned parenthood and komen foundation looking for an excuse to pull support from the group. speaking of snakes the burmese the newest voice in cable news

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billionaire warren buffet doesn't think it is fair that he pays less taxes than his secretary. new legislation has been introduced in the senate based on president obama's proposed buffet rule. it would require the wealthiest americans to pay their fair share at a tax rate of at least 30%. >> we need to change our tax code so that people like me and an awful lot of members of the congress pay our fair share of taxes. you can call this class war fair all you want but asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes.

most americans would call that common sense. >> this bill would do a lot of good things. it would simplify taxes. there's no point chasing loopholes if you know you are going to have to pay the 30% minimum. with all of the advantages that do come with enormous income paying a lower tax rate than regular working families should not be one of those advantages. >> anyone earning more than $1 million in income each year would pay a minimum 30% federal tax rate. but not all millionaires would be subjected to the rate immediately. the congressional research service estimate most upper

class taxpayers pay less than the average american. raising taxes on the wealthy could hurt small business owners who report their profits on their individual tax returns. joining us now to discuss this proposed legislation, democratic senator sheldon whitehouse. thanks for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> $50 billion will have a huge impact on the overall deficit. >> we have certainly fought over numbers that are a lot smaller than that. and you are close to a half of trillion dollars if your number is $50 billion. so it's pretty real money actually. >> what about the argument from republicans that raising the capital gains rate may hurt home

sales at a time when that industry is already reeling? >> i don't see any connection whatsoever. we have had a number of people look at this and see what the offsets would be. and there's really very little. it's basically people who aren't paying their taxes, who are pay accurate far lower than what everybody expects they would pay. these are people paying 18 14 in some cases 11%. so it's just a loophole. it needs to be closed and we intend to do it. >> mitt romney argues that the 15% on capital gains is misleading because he says corporations pay taxes on those as well. >> if you want to tax a dollar

and say that dollar never gets taxed again. it's true in the hardware store who takes it in and then the diner down the street that's not the way it works. >> the act has almost no chance of passage this year as the house of representatives have sworn off tax increases what are the odds you see? >> i think the odds are good. i think they depend first of all in how engaged the americans become in this. there are places where people can register their support for this bill. if people stand up and make their voices heard, congress will listen. >> back to the issue of mitt romney wonder given the fact he released his tax returns, a

lot of americans are realizing that millionaires pay 15% on capital gains. how has that impacted the overall debate and perhaps even the understanding that people have of this issue? >> i think it has expanded people's understanding. you have warren buffet out there. i have given speeches where the occupants pay a 14.7% rate. the highest 400 income earners in the country pay less than average families do. i think the president campaign has put a spotlight on it. certainly when i go around rhode island it's an issue that people are aware of and virtually nobody depends it. >> the spotlight is on in part because of social media. what are you plans as you try to build up support for this

legislation in terms of both traditional interviews like this one, but also for example, using twitter to try to explain what your legislation would do? >> we want to reach out across new media. it's one of the reasons we set up buffetrule.com to be able to capture people who believe there this and want to go on record as arguing for a change here. so i think there is a lot to be done. and in addition to trying to get direct support for the bill we are also coming up to significant decisions, and i any if we continue to put pressure on to get this solved in that context it's a second bite at the apple. >> have you heard anything from your republican colleagues who maybe they agree in principal but they talk about what sort of vote this might be for them?

>> i don't want to out anybody, or name names, but there are a number of offices that have expressed considerable interest in the bill. i think they are running into intention pressure but if the american public stands up and let their senor to -- senator know about this. they will be willing to be heard. >> coming up the growing python problem in florida. the snakes are eating everything in site are producing coming up if you think the union bashing has been bad, just wait until you see what they are planning. and the scene was wolf? get it? you will when time marches on.

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coming up supporters of planned parenthood fight back against the susan g. komen foundation by donating $625,000 in 24 hours. if you don't live in punxsutawney pennsylvania or have your own groundhog, today is groundhog day. when he does he see his shadow it means six more weeks of winter. the most famous ground hog day took place in 1993 when bill murray was forced to live the day over and over again until he made the perfect day. i believe they later made a movie about it. time marches on. we begin as always with footage

of james o'keefe in 2002 performing in a high school musial. we should usually start with this. ♪ >> i'm not sure if we'll keep a still-performing musical theater, but he has been acting like a journalist for the last few years. not a very good actor. and now the tmo adorable clip of the day. keep your paws up. keep your paws up. he looks good but i think floppy, may he rest in peace would have ended up taking him. finally check in on the dangers of pin pinatas.

if you don't have a tree, maybe skip the whole thing. here we go. and there's the pitch and! ow! unfortunately you don't get any candy for hitting someone in the face but you do get a very funny viral video. time marches on. just ahead a new survey by match.com reveals that republicans are more clientingly to climax than

we bring you "countdown" live each night at 8:00 pm eastern, primary replays at 11:00 and 2:00 am eastern. the battle of planned parenthood

there is new evidence tonight that the susan g. komen foundation manufactured rules to justify pulling aid to planned parenthood. they reject claims their decision was motivated by political pressure. a source says barring grants to groups under criminal investigation was created as an excuse. quote . . . >> as we reported yesterday, pro life gop representative opened investigation. the no investigation rule was largely driven by karen handle. in 2010 handle launched an

aggressive anti-abortion campaign. and last night she retweeted and then scrubbed . . . now senator have signed on urging the president to reverse the decision. quote . . . >> trevor nielson is the president of the global philanthropy group. he joins now from los angeles thank for your time tonight, trevor we appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. >> nancy brinker insists that

this strategic shift is nothing unusual. you are quite familiar with the phillic group, what do you think? >> the silliness of the rule don't even pass the laugh test. they don't pick up rules like this. this is an excuse. very clearly there is a conspiracy afoot and a great institution, one that has done a lot of good in the world is going to suffer in a very very significant way. >> if these anti-abortion interest groups prevail on coman

they will essentially -- >> they are going to dry up from people who think, geez if i give money to komen and if some radical interest group tells them how to change their business, what is that going to mean? >> someone decided it would be useful to stop pour women from getting mammograms in other words help poor women to keep from getting breast cancer. >> nancy pelosi weighed in on this point today. >> it's the basic premises that there can't be associated with anybody being investigated. it would be interesting to see

who else they are involved with and whether they are investigated too. if that's the standard then i think they have to be consistent? >> and shouldn't komen pull money from penn state because they are under investigation. >> of course. but that goes back to the silliness of this reported rule. it's essentially meaningless and an excuse. i think we're going to have to see mass resignations from the leadership of komen. i think the woman behind this plot has to be the first to resign. >> is that the advice you could give them. if you were involved with advising komen is that what you would tell snem >> unkwifably. the board of directors in order to save the organization and preserve its long-standing reputation as a real force in

the fight against breast cancer is going to have to replace the leadership team and bring people in that don't have a political agenda. >> and it seems that things couldn't get much more and then this happened. the senator who was caught hiring prostitutes, heal lauded komen's action. he said . . . >> are we going to let political campaigns drive public health decisions? >> you have to look at who the people are that are cheering on this decision, and look at who is opposing this decision. you have the mayor of new york city who stepped forward and said he personally will make a donation to komen to help rally support for the foundation.

moderate sensible people understand that planned parenthood is essentially the only healthcare provider in a lot of poor neighborhoods around the country. abortion is a tiny fraction of what planned parenthood does. deciding they shouldn't get mammograms at planned parenthood is a really irresponsible and mean-spirited decision. >> thank you so much for coming on and offering your invites. >> you are welcome. >> just ahead the scientific information that has to do with iq. and now coming up if you think the union bashing has been bad, just wait until you see what they are planning. and the scene was wolf? get it? you will when time marches on.

if you think you are misguided, a new survey has remarkable results about republicans and their ability to climax. but instead of getting all excited over groundhog day it's time for us ttv